R&B dynamo Jackie Wilson was poised for stardom when he replaced Clyde McPhatter in Billy Ward & the Dominoes in 1953. These 1952–1961 tracks display the gospel extrapolations that made Wilson a solo star shortly thereafter, while never giving short shrift to the skills of Billy Ward as bandleader and the Dominoes as colleagues. Songs include "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Love Me Now or Let Me Go," "One Moment With You," "Bobby Sox Baby," "Above Jacob's Ladder," "Rainy Day Blues," "Little Things Mean a Lot," "St. Louis Blues," "Until the Real Thing Comes Along," "Danny Boy," and more.

"Among the highlights are the set opener, a loping 'You Can't Keep a Good Man Down,' a Wilson-led cover of Tony Bennett's 'Rags to Riches,' a superb version of Casey Bill Weldon's 1936 blues gem, 'I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town,' and an absolutely loopy arrangement of the pop oldie 'Tenderly,' which features some wacky outer space organ…. The tracks exhibit a wonderfully loose and exuberant joy, and while Wilson went on to greater fame as a solo artist, his work with the Dominoes is every bit as strong."—All Music Guide